Who knows what's in store?

[Therin]

"I'm not sure, but we may need their help. They stay with us."
Damion peered intently out into the cavern. He could see no wall except the one through which they had come. Stalagmites as big as houses marched off into the blackness every way he looked. He heard calls echoing across the huge space, non-directional echoes of scout-calls. They seemed to be in some sort of distress, but that was probably just the odd properties of the room. Then a scout stumbled back into the camp and collapsed. Damion rushed through the press of men, caltaka ready in his hand, to find out what was the matter. Blood was pooled on the floor around the shoulder. His left arm was missing. His shoulder ended in a bleeding, twitching mass of torn flesh and bone. The scout had fainted from blood loss, and was very close to death.

Damion whipped around, "Priest!"

[Therin]

Without waiting for Airius to arrive, Damion yelled orders to the men around him.

"I want a squad behind each of those rocks. The rest of you, with me. Be prepared for anything!"

They advanced slowly into the darkness behind the winged warrior. Every third man held a torch. Nothing could be heard in the gloom except for the cautious footsteps of the Prince's regiment. Suddenly, a blooodcurdling shriek ripped through the air in the cavern, deafening everyone. As one man, the regiment looked up. Damion was already in the air. The shadows that concealed the roof of the cavern seemed to slump downward toward the already frightened regiment. They were battle-hardened man, but this was most certainly not battle. They scattered in all directions, dashing off helter skelter into the depths of the huge cave. About ten feet above the ground, the thing was slammed sideways into a natural pillar. Damion readied himself for another blow. The darkness dissipated and the thing revealed itself.

It was a Gorm, legendary cousins of the wyvern that lived and breathed darkness. Unfortunately, they ate flesh like regular wyverns. The legends said that they moved from shadow to shadow like shadows themselves, that if you saw them out of shadow, it was already too late...

The thing that slid down the column in front of Damion was definitely ugly enough to be a wyvern, with huge, sightless pale eyes that bulged out of its worm-like head. It was, however, quite large. Large enough that Damion knew he couldn't take it on alone. He would need the help of his friends back the way he had come.

No longer worrying about the scattered regiment, Damion smacked the beast in what he supposed was its rump and zipped off between the columns. The Gorm, predictably, uttered a screech of rage and launched itself into the air after Damion...

[Tobias]

A flash of light, and the cave was illuminated in silver light as Tobias dashed inbetween stalagmites and stalagtites in hot persuit of the gorm. Leaping up, he takes a hard slash at it, hoping to hit hte beast square in the ass

[Therin]

But Damion and the Gorm are moving far to fast to be tagged from the ground. Damion sees Tobias' attempt from over his shoulder, but sees no more as he twists and turns, zig-zagging between columns. The thing is much, much faster than he had expected it to be. He pushed his speed to the limit and used his comparatively small size to his advantage, dodging with inches of room between stalagtites, circling among the ceiling rocks and suddenly diving straight for the floor. The gorm, however, is not to be toyed with. Suddenly, it puts on an extra burst of speed and slams into Damion from behind, pinning him to the floor thankfully near his companions. It raises its head and strikes with blinding, snake-like swiftness. Damion desperately bashes the thing's head aside with his caltaka. It roars and rears back for a more powerful strike...

[Tobias]

Tobias finally catches up, and see's the beast raising its head. Coming with uncanny speed, Tobias takes a final horizontal slash at the thing's head, putting all force into the swing

[Therin]

Tobias' massive sword did little more than take a few chips out of the ancient beast's plated hide. It also attracted the gorm's attention. Milky eyes the size of dinner plates stared sightlessly down at Tobias. Then the head snapped forward with the speed and force of a falling boulder, streaking toward the elemental with fatal intent.

OOC: 'Sashi? Rev? Where are you guys?

[Tobias]

Tobias smirked, and jumped out of the way just in the knic of time. The beast's head plowing into the ground, Tobias lept back towards a stalagtite, yelling out to Damion: "I suggest you shoot the thing now!!"

[Therin]

Damion looks frantically at Tobias, and yells at him incredulously, "With what!?"

[Tobias]

"I DUNNO...MAKE SOMETHING UP!!!"

The wanderer lept out of the way just in time for another attack from the huge beast. that time, he felt the beast touch his leg...definitely not a good sign.

He continued to dodge the diablolic thing, hoping to keep it busy long enough

[Musashi]

Musashi stalked onward in the darkness, having never seen the hideous beast that assaulted his allies. It was easy enough for him to sneak away shortly after they'd entered the cave. He was one of the time elementals after all. Who else better at avoiding prying eyes when it did not suit his devices? He'd made a decision. He would not lead them on to their doom... at least, not without first finding some inkling of what await them. So he'd left, following a small opening the others had missed in the cavern from which he felt the strongest presence of that which they sought.

That is, until he heard the bloodcurdling shriek of a monster, the echoing clang of sword upon scale, and the patter of armored feet running a few hundred yards behind him.

"Could....Could that be... the realization of my prophecy?? It can't be..." the elemental held his head in doubt, one side of him willing him to go on, the other to rush to their aid... both equally unsure of which path might ultimately spare the lives of those he entered with. With another roar, he came to a conclusion, and sprinted back out of the sidepath. He peeked around its entrance, seeing the wyvern-like beast assaulting Tobias and Damion.

"So be it, this is my path." he muttered as he flitted behind stalagmites of the large chamber, remaining unseen in the shadows knowing Tobias and Damion would be too busy and the other guards too frightened to notice his return immediately.

Musashi began chanting in the darkness, thinking to himself. Come on Tobias... just keep it busy for a few more seconds. A silver orb formed between his hands and began to pulsate as he chanted.